Like I mention in my previous post here http://bit.ly/prgessentials about my reflections after Intel Teach Training from Pargue, Ollie Bray, our brilliant trainer invite the participants to join also Social Media in Learning and Education Project managed by EUN . Janice Richardson, manager of the project said ,, SMILE aims to investigate these issues and, through, an online learning course and mentoring techniques, not only encourage the take-up of social media in schools but also to map best practice in order to foster the exchange of ideas and experience”

Facebook Awards Digital Citizenship Research Grant to European Schoolnet to implement SMILE :) Project and you can read more here . This project has 3 parts :1. An online learning laboratory for 100 teachers from the 30 member states of EUN partnership to investigate and embrace the educational opportunities social media offers;2.Research with the 100 learning laboratory participants to highlight trends and best practices for how social media is being used and can be used in classrooms;3.Broad dissemination of results of the research through EUN’s interactive portals for teachers as well as through European and international meetings and conferences.

Still the begining I must told you that I like verry much this project and for this reason I was involved in the discussions in 1st part of the project on the Elearning Platform managed by EUN http://leedu.eun.org/web/smile/home and for my research http://xeeme.com/LucianeCurator I was accepted to be COP2 leader . In XXI Century Education, the use of new online technologies ( social media and web 2.0 startup tools and apps ) aren't regarded like a avantgarde movement, but unfortunatelly although we have many free edtools most of the teachers still don't know or don't want to know how to integrate new online technologies into the classroom although in all the schools we have now computers connected to Internet . For this reason I want to implement Curation Restart Education project http://bit.ly/credproject also for romanian teachers and in the same time I am proud to be leader in COP2 organized in Smile Project and we discuss in our Community of Practices about : ,, Using Social Media in schools, whole-school approach " . First we must chose the tools for easy collaboration and sharing ( I chose scoop.it and Pinterest ) and now I will describe the features of 10 of my favorites ( 5 tools described here are startup tools many in beta ) and we must chose what to use in our Community of Practices and for this reason please add comments and proposes . We must also chose the platform who is suitable for us to collaborate 3 mounths and Smile:) I propose mightybell :) , but you can propose other .

I propose also for a good collaboration to use this blog http://smileprojectcop2socialmediainschools.blogspot.com/where everyone can describe his / her favorite tool related to a subject . Now I will try to add a short description of the tools and some features for every tool or app .I want to begin collaboration in our COP2 with the best 3 startup curation tools to build and collaborate with PLN and for this reason I propose you dear members of my team to use next mounths still now in Smile Project : mightybell, scoop.it and pinterest .

1.Mightybell is now my favorite Curation tool to collaborate eSafety with PLN and for this reason I want to use this tool / curation platform to collaborate in Smile Project . This is about infusing passion and color into everyday life. Too often, we spend time on what we have to do, not what we want to do. We’ve lost the ability to follow what makes us curious, in favor of choosing what makes us more efficient.With Mightybell, you can step into a world of curiosity and serendipity. By making space for ideas, interests and adventures with friends, you’re embracing the opportunity to create a more colorful life. Each Mightybell space has a story, one you can share with as many likeminded people as you want. You can share : a question, an article, a link, a video or a photo about something that interests you is all you need to start a Mightybell space. After all, you never know when you’ll discover your next passion.

2. Scoopit is my favorite and the best social media curation tool for easily publish gorgeous magazines. Leverage Curation to increase your visibility. Give persistence to
your social media presence. I must told you that you can tag and describe every post on scoop.it .

Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. Teachers use pinboards to manage their projects and also People use pinboards plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes. Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests. To get started, request an invite or leave a comment after you read my post with your email and I will send you a invitation to try this curation tool . Also don't forget that you must pin a immage to bookmark on pinterest .

4. Pearltrees it is also a awesome social media curation tool , and I must told you that I was verry excited when I begin to use it and this is 1st Curation tool . Pearltrees is the best way to organize, discover and share the stuff you like on the web. How does it work? Pearl the stuff you like on the Web and collaborate with friends . Features :You can keep at hand the web pages you like and enrich your account with Pearltrees from other members of the community.Who is Pearltrees made for ?

Anybody who has ever wanted to keep a webpage (about a favorite project, for researching travel, for conducting research or just because there are things you've found that you don't want to lose...) to retrieve it one day or to share it with someone. This means a lot of people!

What makes Pearltrees so special ?

It's probably different for each user but Pearltrees lets people:

have everything they like on the web organized in one place.

access their web items from anywhere using a PC, a Mac or an iPad to enjoy a unique visual interface to keep everything they like at hand, play with pearls, they're made to be manipulated.

5.Springpad Smart Notebooks to save, share and act on what's important to you and to your friends .Springpad now makes it easy to invite your friends so you can make awesome notebooks together. Springpad is great for just about anything and it's even better when you invite your friends.Springing just got easier .Now you can just type in the information you want to save and let Springpad do the rest. Try typing in a task you want to remember, an event you want to save, a movie you want to see, or a product you want to buy. It's that easy!Share and exploreHave you curated the perfect summer reading list? The best places to visit in your neighborhood? Now, you can share your knowledge and passions with the world by making any notebook public.Or, if you see someone else's notebook that you find interesting, you can follow it to see future updates.The privacy of your contents is now controlled at the notebook level. Make a notebook public or private, and all of its contents and attachments will have the same setting.

6.Learnist is the latest social media curation tool for education , still in beta launch by Grockit team . Learnist super easy to share what you know by pointing to existing web resources. You can use videos, blogs, books, documents, images, anything to explain how to learn something.FeaturesUse Learnist to share what you know and learn new things. Create Learn Boards on topics you understand and add learnings by pointing to videos, blogs, images and documents on the web. Board creation permissions are granted on rolling basis.

6.Chime.in is a social network based on interests, where people share, connect with others, and build communities around their favorite topics . Chime.in is designed so that people can share their thoughts, photos, videos, and links. It could also turn into a marketing channel for entertainment brands

Features :

Broadcast your Interests

Chime.in is designed for sharing your opinions, questions, and all the amazing media you come across each day.

Combine text, photos, videos, links, or polls in a Chime

Find new audiences for your content by tagging your Chimes with relevant Interests

Make new friends

Chime.in makes it really easy to connect with people who like the same things as you do.

Sort your Chimelines by likes, shares, or comments to find the most talked about Chimes

Re-Engage With A ClickSend quick follow up messages, meeting invites, birthday cards and more with just a single button click

7. Zoku is the easiest way to strenghten your business relationships .Track Important RelationshipsOrganize information and communications with your customers, investors, recruits, and other important business contacts.Stay Up-To-Date On Key NewsGet alerts for key personal and professional news such as promotions, press mentions, family events, travel plans, and much more.Re-Engage With A ClickSend quick followup messages, meeting invites, birthday cards and more with just a single button click.

After I describe this startup curation tools to build a PLN I also suggest you to use old groups for collaboration on facebook, google plus and diigo .

8. Facebook is a social utility social media tool that connects people worldwide with friends and others who work, study and live around them. I must told you this is a tool I use daily to keep in touch with friends and I am member in more than 30 groups,I made a group https://www.facebook.com/groups/TIS4ETWINNERS/ and a facebook page for Curation Restart Education Project . If I don't find Mightybell groups I suggest COP2 to use facebook groups .

9.Diigo is a powerful research tool and a knowledge-sharing community . Diigo Groups provides a ground-breaking collaborative research and learning tool that allows any group of people to pool their findings through group bookmarks .

I am happy to be also Glogster Edu Ambassador and I suggest all of you to use with students the best edtool GlogsterEdu - Poster yourself - Make your interactive poster easily and share it with friends. Mix Images, Text, Music and Video. It is fantastic!